Games Archive

OnLive employees fire, acquisition imminent?

Thom Holwerda 2012-08-17 Games 28 Comments

Interesting. The Verge summarises the loads of news and rumours coming out of OnLive today - much of the staff seems to have been laid off, and an acquisition could be imminent. Who will it be? Apple? Google? Microsoft? EA? Valve? CommodoreUSA?

Valve to offer applications through Steam

Thom Holwerda 2012-08-08 Games 68 Comments

Valve has just announced it will start selling applications through Steam. "The Software titles coming to Steam range from creativity to productivity. Many of the launch titles will take advantage of popular Steamworks features, such as easy installation, automatic updating, and the ability to save your work to your personal Steam Cloud space so your files may travel with you. More Software titles will be added in an ongoing fashion following the September 5th launch, and developers will be welcome to submit Software titles via Steam Greenlight." I feel like a broken record at this point, but guys and girls, Valve is going to release specifications for a 'Steambox'. A set of minimum specifications a Linux or Windows machine has to adhere to, either self-built or by an OEM. Steam pre-installed, can be used as regular PC and as a console. With Windows 8 locking itself down, this is their only option - and I applaud it.

Submitted by aargh 2012-08-02 Games 98 Comments

From Valve's Linux blog: "That the Linux version runs faster than the Windows version (270.6) seems a little counter-intuitive, given the greater amount of time we have spent on the Windows version. However, it does speak to the underlying efficiency of the kernel and OpenGL." If it wasn't obvious before, it should be now: Valve has started its marketing campaign for Linux. With the Windows platform in the process of closing itself off, Valve has to look to greener pastures. This is all to motive third parties to get their stuff ready for a possible Linux-powered 'Steambox' - not a console, but a set of generic PC specifications. Remember: the Xbox is the only machine tied to DirectX - OpenGL runs everywhere else, including Windows (the PS3 is an oddball, and has a sort-of Sony-specific FrankenOpenGL). OpenGL simply makes more sense for developers, and now Valve is working very closely with Nvidia, AMD, and Intel to optimise their Linux drivers. Do the math, people.

Valveâ€™s Gabe Newell: Windows 8 will be catastrophe for PC space

Thom Holwerda 2012-07-26 Games 104 Comments

Valve's Gabe Newall on Linux and Windows 8: "We want to make it as easy as possible for the 2500 games on Steam to run on Linux as well. It's a hedging strategy. I think Windows 8 is a catastrophe for everyone in the PC space. I think we'll lose some of the top-tier PC/OEMs, who will exit the market. I think margins will be destroyed for a bunch of people. If that's true, then it will be good to have alternatives to hedge against that eventuality."

Submitted by Nth_Man 2012-07-17 Games 33 Comments

"The truth is that this is the first post of the Valve Linux blog. This blog is where you can find the latest information from Valve about our Linux development efforts. Avoid the rumors and speculations that multiply on the Web. Instead, come to the source - a blog where people who are interested in Linux and open source game development can get the latest information on Valve's efforts in this arena. In this initial post, we'll introduce the team (and a bit of its history) and then give you a snapshot of what we're currently doing." Steam, Source, and Left 4 Dead 2 coming to Linux. We know why.

The ugly, profitable details about Xbox Live advertising

Thom Holwerda 2012-07-14 Games 34 Comments

"People who don't play video games would be forgiven if they turned on an Xbox 360 and didn't realize it was a device used to primarily play games. The first screen you see on the Xbox 360 Dashboard is often a mixture of ads for all sorts of goods and services, and many times games are in the minority of ad slots. The latest redesign increased the ad space that can be sold to advertisers, and that in turn increased this problem. Let's be clear, it is a problem." No kidding. I pay for Xbox Live, yet I'm being bombarded by useless crap ads. It's ridiculous. And yet I don't stop playing. It seems as if there's a solution to this problem in there somewhere, but I can't quite put my finger on it.

SNESDev-RPi: a SNES adapter for the Raspberry Pi

Thom Holwerda 2012-07-06 Games 18 Comments

"A few weeks ago I got my Pi delivered and started working on what I would describe as 'universal console'. In this post I describe my initial thoughts about this project and present an adapter that allows you to use SNES controllers as input devices for the Raspberry Pi." This is what the Pi is all about. Amazing work by Florian (can't find his last name!), code and instructions are available. So cool.

Documention from 2010 on next Xbox leaks

Thom Holwerda 2012-06-16 Games 14 Comments

"A newly leaked 56-page document sheds some light on the company's plans, for what it calls the 'Xbox 720'. The presentation appears to be from August 2010, and references future improvements like SmartGlass, a Metro dashboard, and Xbox TV apps. Alongside its incremental Xbox 360 updates, Microsoft has a clear vision for its next-generation Xbox 720 console - we've dug into its plans to bring you the best bits." It's important to note the documentation is already two years old - a lifetime in the technology world. Still interesting, though. Now if you don't mind - back to Half-Life 2 on my plain old soon-to-be-outdated Xbox 360.

Xbox gets Internet Explorer, SmartGlass

Thom Holwerda 2012-06-04 Games 16 Comments

The E3 is supposed to be all about gaming, but since you can only go so far with realistic renderings of bullets entering and exiting various body parts, Microsoft's keynote was more about expanding the Xbox ecosystem - with, among other things, Internet Explorer and SmartGlass. The latter is a service which allows you to use additional devices - tablets, smrtphones, PCs - as remote controls for your Xbox. IT goes much further than that though, while watching a TV show or a game, SmartGlass can show additional content (i.e., a map of Westeros while watching Game of Thrones), or pick up content where you left off. Pretty cool - and coming to iOS and Android as well, including the game integration. Yup, expect Office for iOS and Android to land soon.

Minecraft Xbox 360 Edition sells one million copies in five days

Thom Holwerda 2012-05-15 Games 5 Comments

One million copies sold in 5 days, $20 million in sales. People have already sunk 5.2 million hours into the game, including 2.4 million hours in 4 million multiplayer games. Minecraft on the Xbox 360 is yet another massive success. Pretty amazing. Coincidentally, I'm kind of done with Minecraft single player (on the PC, that is). Anybody here running a decent survival multiplayer server with mods (levelling, economy, etc.)?

Submitted by Radio 2012-04-26 Games 36 Comments

"I am still struck by just how interested Valve is in Linux as a platform; it is certainly beyond my original expectations. This Linux work just is not some half-assed attempt by them to make it look like they are a Linux-friendly organization. Gabe's vision to support, embrace, and promote Linux are amazing, assuming they execute, which looks to be very high probability at this point." Nice scoop from Phoronix. Seems to all tie in quite well with the prospect of a Steambox running Linux.

Valve CEO Gabe Newell: Valve-Apple meeting didn’t happen

Thom Holwerda 2012-04-20 Games 5 Comments

This is getting repetitive, but girl scout, red, etc. etc. "Apple CEO Tim Cook and Valve head Gabe Newell did not actually meet last week as rumored, according to a new podcast interview with Newell." You don't say. Pattern recognition, folks.

Original Prince of Persia code found and released as open source

Thom Holwerda 2012-04-17 Games 23 Comments

While many won't understand the significance of this, this really is kind of a big deal. After accidentally stumbling on the source code for the original Prince of Persia, its creator, Jordan Mechner, has released it as open source. It took some magic to get the code, written in Apple II assembly, off the 23-year old disks. Prince of Persia created an entire genre and left an impression on the games industry that lasts to this very day. Having the original code out and about is huge.

Keep an eye on Valve, even if you’re not into games

Thom Holwerda 2012-04-14 Games 79 Comments

When I ask you to name the technology world's most secretive company, you'd most likely respond with 'Apple'. However, there's one other technology company that, while substantially smaller than the Cupertino giant, is quite possibly even more secretive: Valve.

Rumour: Tim Cook spotted at Valve’s HQ

Thom Holwerda 2012-04-13 Games 26 Comments

AppleInsider, once one of the better Apple news sites, is rumouring that Apple CEO Tim Cook was spotted at Valve's HQ. Considering all the rumours Valve is working on a console (more fuel for the flames), this could potentially be interesting. As much as AppleInsider's story is being spread across the web - can anybody actually verify AI's story? It cites no sources, and could, for all we know, be completely made up. Anyone...?

Notch unveils 0x10c, space sim with custom virtual processors

Thom Holwerda 2012-04-04 Games 34 Comments

Notch, creator of the immensely popular and successful Minecraft, has announced his next game project. It's a multiplayer and single player space simulator with all the usual stuff like resource mining, combat, exploration, and so on. However, a very unique aspect is that each player's ship has a custom fully programmable 16bit CPU which uses a custom, hand-made instruction set. The possibilities are amazing.

Rumours: Microsoft, Sony looking to kill used games market

Thom Holwerda 2012-03-28 Games 77 Comments

The rumour mill for the next generation of video game consoles has been churning out some juicy stuff these past few months. While Nintendo has laid most of its cards out on the table, Microsoft and Sony have remained tight-lipped, probably because their consoles are still seeing increased sales. So, we have to rely on rumours, and those rumours have one thing in common: Microsoft and Sony want to eliminate the used games market.

Wing Commander: Darkest Dawn, fan-made goodness

Thom Holwerda 2012-03-26 Games 4 Comments

"Last week, we previewed the launch of Wing Commander Saga: Darkest Dawn, the fan-built companion to Wing Commander III: Heart of the Tiger that's been in the making for the past ten years. We were excited for its launch. But now that the game is available, how'd the team do?" They did good, it turns out. It's high time the space simulator genre gets a boost. And yeah, it's a slow news day, unless you want me to bore you with nonsense about the new iPad being slightly warmer to the touch or a Microsoft contest not being fair (who'da thunk?!).

After outrage, BioWare considers changing Mass Effect 3 ending

Thom Holwerda 2012-03-21 Games 73 Comments

As I made very clear in my thorough review of Mass Effect 2, I'm a huge BioWare fan. This relationship got very, very cloudy when BioWare released Dragon Age II, a rush job with no story and atrocious gameplay. Mass Effect 3 looked like redemption - until I hit the terrible, terrible ending. The criticism of the ending has been so immense and consistent, BioWare is contemplating changing it. Of course, this story is riddled with spoilers, so be warned.

Submitted by sawboss 2012-03-06 Games No Comments

"When it comes to feeding back information to the player from a game controller, we still rely on a vibration unit inside the controller. It can 'beat' in many different ways, but is quite limited if you want to give a very specific response to what's happening in any given game. A team of engineers at the University of Utah think they can do better, and have developed a new tactile feedback thumbpad of sorts. If used as part of a game controller, it will supplement vibration feedback by stretching the user's skin on their thumb tips in very specific ways."